As schools and colleges across the country prepare for a raft of changes to the way they are managed; an international education expert will be discussing the implications for Hackney as part of a forthcoming council scrutiny review.

Education expert Sir Michael Barber is a leading authority on education systems and reform. Over the past two decades his research and advisory work has focused on school improvement, standards and performance, funding in higher education, and education in developing countries.

Sir Michael will be attending the Council’s Children & Young People Scrutiny Commission review meeting on February 13 to discuss the role of ‘middle tier’ support organisations that liaise between central government and schools. He will be drawing on examples from excellent ‘middle tiers’ in other education systems around the world.

The review will also see the Commission question Council officers and local Cabinet Members on how new national changes will affect local schools.
As well as the changes to national education policy, this is also a time of local change as education services are transferred back to Hackney Council this year after being run by The Learning Trust, a not-for-profit company that has been responsible for running all education services in the borough since 2002. The scrutiny review is an opportunity to reflect on the changes to the education environment and the role of the local authority and local elected representatives in education.

Cllr Gulay Icoz, Chair of the Children & Young People Scrutiny Commission, said: “We are very pleased that Sir Michael Barber is involved in this review, to share his expertise in this area with us. We look forward to an interesting discussion about effective education systems.”

The review’s first meeting is on Monday 13 February, and will take evidence until April. The meeting’s agenda can be found here: http://bit.ly/xKqtsa. For more information visit: www.hackney.gov.uk/scrutiny or telephone: 020 8356 3341.